PRESS RELEASE

18 December 2018

SCOTTISH OPERA AND THE NATIONAL OPERA STUDIO JOIN FORCES FOR PERFORMANCE IN EDINBURGH

Scottish Opera’s Opera in Concert 2018/19 series continues on 1 February at 6pm at King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, with a performance by the Young Artists from the National Opera Studio.

This collaboration with National Opera Studio provides the Young Artists a week-long residency in Glasgow, culminating in a special performance on the set of Anthropocene at the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh. The Young Artists will also work on their repertoire with the English National Opera Orchestra for the first time, prior to their Scottish Opera recital, for a special performance at London’s Cadogan Hall this January.

Directed by Orpha Phelan, with Charles Peebles conducting The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the varied programme for February’s performance by 12 opera stars of the future includes favourites from Beethoven’s Fidelio, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Carmen by Bizet and Handel’s Rodelina.

This year’s show follows the success of last year’s Scottish Opera and National Opera Studio collaboration, From Russia with Love. It featured two of Scottish Opera 2018/19 Emerging Artists: mezzo-soprano Bethan Langford in performance and repetiteur Erika Gundesen, who was involved in 2018’s week-long residency.

Alex Reedijk, General Director of Scottish Opera said: ‘We are excited to be working with some of the country’s most talented developing artists from the National Opera Studio and to build on the success of last year’s From Russia With Love programme. It is the first year that the ENO Orchestra has also worked with the singers, in a performance at London’s Cadogan Hall, and we are delighted to be a part of this collaboration. Two of our current Emerging Artists, Bethan Langford and Erika Gundesen, came from National Opera Studio and we are proud to continue to foster these young artists’ talent and careers.’

Emily Gottlieb, Chief Executive of the National Opera Studio said: ‘We are delighted to return to Scottish Opera this year, as we celebrate 40 years of working in partnership to deliver our internationally renowned training programme to exceptional young singers and repetiteurs. To have the opportunity to work with international artists such as conductor Charles Peebles, director Orpha Phelan and The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, and present our Young Artists on the stage of King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, is absolutely invaluable.’

Opera in Concert 2018/19 closes in April with two performances of Mascagni’s hard-hitting work, Silvano, at City Halls Glasgow on 14 April and Usher Hall Edinburgh on 16 April. Conducted by Scottish Opera Music Director Stuart Stratford, the passionate seafaring tale tells of a doomed love triangle that ends in disaster, death and despair and includes the Barcarolle famously used in Martin Scorsese’s film, Raging Bull.

The National Opera Studio performance is supported by Scottish Opera Endowment Trust.

-ENDS-

www.scottishopera.org.uk

National Opera Studio Creative Team

Conductor Charles Peebles Director Orpha Phelan

National Opera Studio cast

Sopranos Ana-Maria Bacanu Charlie Drummond Frances du Plessis

Mezzo-sopranos Margo Arsane Marvic Monreal Beth Moxon

Countertenor JungKwon Jang

Tenors Robert Barbaro Ben Smith Adam Temple-Smith

Baritones Nicholas Mogg Jake Muffett

Repetiteurs Emily Hooker William Green Benedict Kearns Michael Papadopoulos

Performance Diary for Opera in Concert

National Opera Studio 1 Feb 2019, 6pm King’s Theatre Edinburgh

Mascagni’s Silvano 14 Apr 2019, 3pm City Halls Glasgow

16 Apr 2019, 7.30pm Usher Hall Edinburgh

-ENDS- www.scottishopera.org.uk You can follow Scottish Opera on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @ScottishOpera

Notes to Editors

Scottish Opera is Scotland’s national opera company and the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. It was founded by Alexander Gibson in 1962 and was inaugurated with a production of Madama Butterfly at the King's Theatre in Glasgow.

Notable achievements include the world premiere of James MacMillan's Inés de Castro at the 1996 Edinburgh International Festival; complete Ring cycles at the 2003 Edinburgh International Festival, which won the 2004 South Bank Show Award for Best Opera Production; and the Achievement in Opera Award at the 2017 UK Theatre Awards for Sir David McVicar’s production of Debussy’s Pelléas and Mélisande. Recent commissions include Five:15 Operas Made in Scotland (2008-10); The Lady from the Sea, Clemency, the double bill of In the Locked Room and Ghost Patrol (winner of a South Bank Sky Arts Award) which premiered at the 2012 Edinburgh International Festival and 2016's The Devil Inside by Stuart MacRae and Louise Welsh. Earlier this year the Company made its US debut with BambinO at the Metropolitan Opera New York, and returned to the city’s Brooklyn Academy of Music with Greek in December.

Scottish Opera is committed to bringing the widest possible range of opera, performed to the highest possible standards, to the maximum audience throughout Scotland and the UK. Each year it performs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness, as well as smaller theatres, village halls and community centres throughout the country.

Scottish Opera’s Education and Outreach Department was the first of its kind of any opera company in Europe. It operates an extensive programme which involves over 8,000 primary school children every year as well as many other activities including adult learning and Unwrapped taster sessions.

Scottish Opera is supported by the Scottish Government.

For additional press details please contact: Emily Henderson, Press Manager, 0141 242 0511, [email protected] Emma Ainley-Walker, Press Officer, 0141 242 0552, [email protected]